ShoeGuy: Sunshine, Cookies and Motion Control - Can You Have Too Much of a Good Thing?

Can You Have Too Much of a Good Thing?

It started with one of those Internet discussions among a group of runners who wondered about whether there is such a thing as too much support in running shoes.

Heck, why not ask if there can be too much fresh air in the mountains, too much sunshine at the beach, or too much chocolate in a cookie? Too much support from running shoes? Depends on what you mean by support. In my mind, support—like fresh air, sunshine and chocolate—is a good thing.

Okay, I wasn’t involved in this cyber chat (I save my chatting for the face-to-face variety). I received some of the exchanges from someone who thought I might be in need of something to do.

I figured out that by "support" these cyber freaks meant "resistance." That is, resistance to the raging forces of over-pronation, a resistance that is commonly known as stability, motion-control, and, yes, support.

So if a runner over-pronates, and the above-mentioned stability-motion-control-support type shoes are indicated, how much is too much? Or is there such a thing as too much? Don’t confuse this with chocolate cookies.

I decided to throw this out on the Internet myself to assorted ShoeGuys across the country and see how they would handle it. Though this bunch are all good friends, we don’t do that chat room thing—I just e-mailed them with this:

"Your thoughts, if you have the time and inclination, on the following: In three sentences or less, what are the problems, if any, with a runner wearing a shoe that is TOO stable? For example, if a runner does fine in a moderately stable shoe, what would be the problem with switching to a super-stable motion-control shoe?"

Naturally, some of my buddies thought I meant a minimum of three sentences per paragraph and no limit on paragraphs. One wrote 427 words, another 249 (according to my nifty electronic word count tool). You’ve got to love them, as they’re a passionate bunch. With the help of my delete button, here’s the cream of what was a more than abundant verbal crop:

From Nevada: "Pronation is a natural function within the makeup of the body. To restrict it completely usually causes [182 words that can be summed up as "injury"]. I prefer to err on the side of less rather than more."

With running shoes, maybe, but obviously not with verbiage.

From Washington, D.C.: "The foot needs to pronate some in order to absorb shock efficiently. If the shoe is too stable, too much shock may be transferred up the legs resulting in [only about a dozen words that mean "injury"].

From New York: "I think you have to be careful not to over-think the situation. If [a runner’s gait] looks good in a shoe, we are inclined to recommend that shoe. If they are over-controlled and it is obvious, then we recommend moving to something else."

Thanks, New York, for following the 3-sentence rule.

From Memphis: "We have seen problems with customers who bought too stable a shoe. I am glad to say that they bought them elsewhere."

Hey, don’t look at me. They didn’t buy them in Davis, California!

From Albuquerque: "We see [pain in the area of the iliotibial band], particularly at the lower end of the band, and foot pain which the runner usually mis-diagnoses as plantar fasciitis."

Well, sometimes runners like to have the same injury as their buddies. They should leave that diagnosis thing to those who can spell iliotibial without looking it up. (I looked it up.)

From Houston: "Your customer is probably sacrificing a significant amount of cushioning by going to extra stability, which might result in a not-so-happy customer."

Yep, and we ShoeGuys live to make customers happy.

From St. Louis: "There are some easy answers as to why not ‘over-stabilize for safety.’ The most obvious is that motion control shoes [can be] typically heavy, wide and have a clunky ride."

That may work in a ’65 Pontiac, but not in most running shoes.

"I’ll continue to use a simple gait analysis to rule out shoes that are too flexible."

And, no doubt, to rule out shoes that are not flexible enough.

From San Antonio: "Foot pronation is the body’s primary shock absorption mechanism. Over-pronation is best treated by restraining it rather than trying to stop it completely."

Sounds like a good treatment for a chocolate cookie habit, too.

From Chicago: "We fit the customer’s individual needs. Pronation is a good thing, we do not want to eliminate it, [but rather] control it."

From San Francisco: "I always say it is just as bad to overcorrect the runner as to under-correct."

From Atlanta: " Fit the foot. Don’t fight its natural movement."

Well, it reads to me that a gaggle of ShoeGuys across our land all agree that when it comes to support in running shoes, too much of a good thing can be, well, too much of a good thing. Match the runner’s pronation factor to how much resistance to pronation the shoe provides. Not too much, not too little.

I thank my sister and brother ShoeGuys from around the country for their wisdom and for doing most of my work this month. The next time we gather, the chocolate cookies are on me.